


It's In The Past

by onhomeice



Series: Snapdragon [2]
Category: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-27
Updated: 2015-02-27
Packaged: 2018-03-15 13:20:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3448640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onhomeice/pseuds/onhomeice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Remember how I wrote that drabble about Aurora and Thomas like six months ago? Well this was supposed to be the story of how Thomas and Aurora met, but I got like nine hundred words in and then got distracted so here's a WIP never to be finished.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's In The Past

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry about the formatting, I'm not familiar with how to format here on ao3 and since this is just a WIP I think I'll leave it as is.

It was a later night than usual at the Garrison and if you looked hard enough you'd find that

every Peaky boy was accounted for, right down to the young Finn, who for all his excitement at

being included in the big boys' night out, was curled sleepily against John's side. As for John

himself, he was directly, though not singularly, responsible for the raucous celebration that had

left the Peaky Blinders sprawled throughout the pub in its aftermath. John's recent wife, Esme,

had, at approximately 12:13 AM, given birth to a beautiful baby girl. True to tradition, the

Shelby brothers had let John rejoice with his wife and get a good look at the child before they

dragged him down to the pub for round upon round of celebratory drinks. 

John, Thomas, Arthur, and little Finn were spread around a booth in the Garrison's main room,

coming down from the high point of their merriment. Thomas held his pint in both hands, staring

into the dregs left at the bottom, watching them swirl lazily around the glass. Arthur, next to

Thomas, looked to be on the verge of passing out for the night, his eyes glazed over, staring not

quite at the streetlamp out the window, but more into the middle ground of his vision. Finn's head

kept slipping down from where it rested against John's shoulder, and his eyelids fluttered from

the effort of keeping them open. It was a losing battle.

John, however, was surprisingly alert, considering the circumstances. He found himself

reliving the day he married Esme. It was just like Thomas to betroth him to a Lee girl without so

much as a word of warning. Only Thomas could get away with it, let alone convince John to go

into it willingly. Things turned out all right in the end, John supposed. His older children now

had a mother once again, John had a beautiful wife and new daughter, and the Shelby's had the

advantage of calling the Lees their kin.

John was well aware that Thomas preferred to keep his own romantic endeavors secret,

especially since the incident with the pretty barmaid, but at times like this he couldn't help but

wonder about the little wisp of a woman Thomas had brought to the races recently. Thomas

hadn't alerted his family that he was bringing an outsider, and hadn't even bothered to introduce

the woman to them. John suspected Aunt Pol had wheedled Thomas about it afterwards, but if

she found anything out, she hadn't shared it with any of the boys.

"Oi, Thomas." John had let his curiosity get the better of him. He was now determined to get

some answers from his secretive brother.

"Hmm?" murmured Thomas, looking up from his glass upon hearing his name. Finn

and Arthur both shifted and muttered a bit at the disruption of the quiet.

"When are you going to fuckin' spill about that faerie you're bringing 'round to the races? It's

about time someone called you out for bringing in a fuckin' outsider." demanded John. He was

getting more and more riled up about the subject the more he thought about it.

Thomas stared blankly at John for a solid sixty seconds before he opened his mouth to respond.

"What is it that you want to know?" sighed Thomas. He knew this was inevitable, he'd already

managed to dodge Aunt Pol once so far, but he reckoned she'd been doing some of her own

research since then. He'd rather abate John's childish curiosity now then deal with him sober and

surrounded by the rest of his clan.

John blinked for a moment, mildly stupefied that Thomas was giving in so easily. 

"Well what's her name then? Who is she?" spluttered John.

"Her name is Aurora Murphy. She's a courier." 

"A courier? You hired her?" 

"No, I didn't hire her." 

"Well did someone send her to you? How the fuck did you meet her? You're gettin' on my

fuckin' nerves, Tommy."

Thomas looked back into his glass and thought about Aurora and the circumstances of their

meeting. They were shady to say the least, and telling the truth would include letting loose a

secret Thomas wasn't ready to let go of yet. Especially not to John. He wouldn't understand it.

Only one other person had known this secret, and he wasn't around to tell it.

It was before sun up on a Tuesday and Thomas was following the familiar route from his home

on Arthur Street down to Cheapside. He'd been making this trip once every fortnight for not quite

a whole year. Thomas would wake up at half four, get dressed, and walk up Arthur Street to

Coventry Road. From there it was just a short skip down Warner Street, and then he'd find

himself in Cheapside. 

Cheapside isn't a pleasant area to be sure, but Thomas wasn't exactly there to enjoy the

atmosphere. If you knew where to look, and who to ask, you could find just about every illicit

substance or activity being sold and bartered for a fair price down in Cheapside. Thomas knew

where to look, and was well past needing to ask. Up where Alcester Street met with Cheapside,

there was a storefront wedged between a pub and a whorehouse. Inside that storefront there is a

man they call Handsome. If you know just what to say, Handsome would lead you to a back door,

down some stairs, and into the main operation.


End file.
